Utah Jazz Blown Out By Hornets, Stay Winless On Road
Nov 2, 2025, 7:24 PM
Lauri Markkanen #23 of the Utah Jazz attempts a shot (Photo by Kelsey Grant/Getty Images)
(Photo by Kelsey Grant/Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY – The Utah Jazz dropped to 0-3 on the road and 2-4 overall to open the season after falling to the Charlotte Hornets 126-103.
The Jazz were without Walker Kessler, who flew back to Salt Lake City to have his left shoulder examined, while the Hornets were without All-Star LaMelo Ball.
Lauri Markkanen and Miles Bridges each led their teams with 29 points.
Related: Walker Kessler Returns To Utah For Tests On Shoulder
Jazz Season Is Off The Rails Just Six Games In
After opening the season with a high-energy win over the Los Angeles Clippers, the Jazz have dropped four of their last five games, including consecutive losses to the struggling Phoenix Suns and Charlotte Hornets.
The situation appears to be deteriorating.
In their last two outings, the Jazz were outscored by a combined 45 points, and opponents have clearly figured out how to dismantle them.
I think there’s a very realistic chance the Jazz just wrapped up the easiest six-game stretch in their schedule with a 2-4 record.
It’s early, but Tankathon has the Jazz with the toughest remaining schedule, and there’s a chance their last five opponents all miss the playoffs.
— Ben Anderson (@BensHoops) November 3, 2025
Attack the rim, finish inside, or kick out for an open three. Repeat the cycle.
“We’re getting blown by the point of attack,” Jazz coach Will Hardy said. “We have to guard the ball better as a group — everybody has to take a little more pride.”
The Hornets connected on 18 of their 43 three-point attempts, consistently finding open looks as Utah’s defense scrambled to recover.
“If you don’t contain the ball at the point of attack and it gets too deep in the paint, the closeouts are really long,” Hardy added. “You obviously don’t want to give up a layup, and so you commit to taking away the layup, and now, when they make good reads, which they did — credit to Charlotte — you’re in long closeouts.”
K2!!! 🤧@Kon2Knueppel | @Lowes pic.twitter.com/2r3QtLYTtU
— Charlotte Hornets (@hornets) November 2, 2025
Those long closeouts often result in wide-open threes, which are far too easy in today’s NBA — even for teams near the bottom of the standings.
Unfortunately for the Jazz, few “lesser” teams appear on the immediate schedule.
They’ve already faced five teams — the Kings, Trail Blazers, Suns (twice), and Hornets — who are unlikely to contend for the playoffs in their respective conferences.
Now, the schedule ramps up in difficulty.
The Jazz will wrap up their road trip against the Boston Celtics, Detroit Pistons, and Minnesota Timberwolves, then return home to host Minnesota, Indiana, Atlanta, and Chicago.
While only two of those teams currently hold records above .500, only the Pacers have a worse record than the Jazz.
To make matters worse, those seven teams have a combined 22–21 record — better than the 10–14 mark posted by Utah’s previous opponents, excluding their games against the Jazz.
The Jazz might not look this bad all season long, but they may be unable to stop the bleeding in the immediate future.
Next Utah Jazz Broadcast
The Jazz will travel to face the Boston Celtics on Monday at 5:30 p.m. MST. The game will be televised on KJZZ, streamed on Jazz+, and heard on 97.5 The KSL Sports Zone.
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Ben Anderson is the Utah Jazz insider for KSL Sports and the co-host of Jake and Ben from 10-12p with Jake Scott on 97.5 The KSL Sports Zone. Find Ben on Twitter at @BensHoops, on Instagram @BensHoops, or on BlueSky.
